Cornstalk cutter and macerator



June 27, 1950 DVQRAK 2,513,155

CORNSTALK CUTTER AND MACERATOR Filed March 21, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet l M JNVLiNTOR.

June 27, 1950 J DVORAK 2,513,155

CORNSTALK CUTTER AND MACERATOR Filed March 21, 1949 Patented June 27, 1950 ("JOBL'NSTAI KZQU'IZTER AND-MAQEIEATVOE? lqseph. DvQ ahLDav n Iowa, assignor f; one-half" to Cliflprgl 11,, Anderson, Davengort;

impl at n Meme-1, 194a,-,s.erierite we 1e Glaims; 1, My in en io relatfie to, a icultural implemer ts.

O of, the r ates of he 351.1. insect peste which attack c r mode n; tim s, theseqalied European, corn. borer which, came E h United. es about, L 10, arrciiin ecrent yfiars become wides read, in the United. Stetesr com borer worms ha h; 011t.. r0n eggst aivdfinr or. on; the growing corn stalks-bysmall mothsnd; af e: e gs het h. he." wormeom n from them crawl in:- h stal s, towarrll he e rs, an creategreat amag by cutt ngz fi he. 12121 01 sap o. h ears: causin them to wilt and hang, d0WIi-.. These, qrme, r; th i pupae hibernate throughout the winter in the stalks. and, imthe; spring develop into moths which lay morgeeggs so the, cycle is repeated The, o iee st f. my invention; are; t rzrm'idev meehenicaLmeans-which can bedmyvnhx atr a c -o or or. 3 12 3 a ta ed. o ac ondratwn cornepiekersvof. the typesrnQW infiqmmqmuee whichwiii. cut 011 th co stalks; or, re eive. he orristalks as; out by the pickers: and. ush la ere e. anal maceratethemto suchnanrrextenta s tordeetm the.

9m borer wormsor. otherpests whic in est the com stelksg to. provide, means to maoerate cqrnrstalks anti mak r hemusa l ra bedding for farm.- animals, as Well, as to pull t em. in.,a .f91'min. which, much of the starlks. can. be eaten by live stock; to clear the field of standigggggorn stalks so, as to: iacilitate, plowing thereof; to crush and maceratte he 2Qrn,. .ta1ks so they, can hemmed. under, as. fertilizer; and; to put. thev maeerartedcormst'alkeinponiieni ntform for beling r sto n r r use in. pap rmaking or. othe purposes.

I, ettiairr these bi eetehy the means, illustrated, intlLQ accompanying. drrwrines,v in. vr ti :l1.v H

E eurei 4 e ner p ct r iew. of." a ire, tionali part. f. a.., q rnze ek r w th. my,- emieretiis... united. h reto, ut omi t ng the. eeare pr qr vingi the.- rolls H F gure 21% ap enrviema E ure3 is..esi'de, leratt n;, v ure 4 is a fr te1 i9 f; pparatus; Figure 5' is an enlarged detaiLqffthe rolls. All of theviews'exce t Figure 1 omitthe picker, A as thatis a wel now mach ne n commoeu e nd' p' ke no c aim o any par icular ime, 2. T: picker. I Similar numerals refer to similar; parts through outthe'several views.

My appara udes id i remesj; endiz ith. a bottom p1at,e1.1 mounted'jthereon. Atjthg front o he b m I2 ,.b ades .1- and. f ar mou ed 111,2 1: t e; tra s: and here heir meet; 55.

d esisharpenedr to a s st. n. Quttin off. the orn talks near h grou d; A t ier euler movable.

mant l with, sharpened dge t mi it d HPQIA.

the. Mr at t e rear, of, he blad s." 3, and. andv recipmea t sfl w thi heib r 6;. aet' hathar s; driven,

transverse y by thetlinlst L crank p nt Q nd? the.

ifimfwheeha. v

Thewh eia iswmonn edauppnra rota ab sli it lmieurna edt n he tramemembe fi, L l2:- Ihe sha-itg [firmer be riyeri r. uitable pow reonn c om. with; he arriv ng mech n sm,- the picker ar s-p imempten,

K ckers ew use r comm n y proyid r i with; a; o bar. whiqhehendsf he or warcilst a h oni er'mq si ahead-r As..- the CQPI}; st lke are cut; br wer-blades: 3,? 1 and Ei r butts of the 51 3:1525,v mount the bottom plate; lit 1 are ri d rerm vi' t l iw butt.

nsureir e elz earward movement I: he

te-13 71: men-remixed: l eitudinat b 30 up n;- tlreem f-I A-SMRRO 1% 51 e frame ie rme ed here cra k: sha tttlfi the-oranltififiidriveszthe uppercfeed ban, bhecranks Her-.29 will: drive: the lower feed? barin a1-terna-' tion with the upper one. Thus, as theruppenfeed bark moveszinwardi ands toward: the rear; the. lower I feed her will: bezretra ctedz and moved; forwardly;

I-Ipon rtherrear' of the frames- I! and T, I mountcoltu-mnsi I 5%.(251 with! a shaft Zij'QurnaJ-Ieettherein carrying a roll 36. The columns l5-l5 are providedrwithlverticail slots: I52I' in the uppep part thereof, inwhieh ahshaft: I is; rotatably mounted:

f similatrto-- the threads of a very-largescrew with deep threads cuttherein. These rol lsarethreadeddn opjpqsite directions-that is, one; has a: lejtharrd thread and the other a; righthaind thrfiadfatidf are so spaoed that the outeredge or sta ks: 3

t sir o -th Eli Gre k; 0. he she-ft. 216; je rree ertiez. e derr tawhieh; at pluralitzw ountect hereompmjeetine: e a /t n of: the crankshaft: will:

crest when running idle will reach approximately to the root of the other thread and vice versa.

When the corn stalks are fed to and are passing between the rolls, the shaft of the upper roll can move upwardly in the slots I5.l as far as necessary to permit the corn stalks to pass between the rolls where the threads ofthe rolls will out and mash the stalks to such an extent as to destroy any corn borer worms or other pests which may be located in the stalks. time the stalks are crushed and macerated by the rolls into fragments which'form a superior At the same.

bedding for farm animals and a large part thereof ously, I mount gear wheels I! and 18 upon their shafts 24 and 19. These gear wheels havejspurs, which are arranged to meshwith a Da'irof 'cor-' responding gears 20 and 22, mounted upon the shafts 2| and 23 which are journaled in links'lSJ, 20.l and 22.! carried by the shafts. Theshafts l9 and 2| are connected by the link J91, the

shafts 2i and 23 by the link .20.! and the shafts 23 and 24 by the link 22.l.. As so arranged, the gears form a train by which motion ofthe gear I! is transmitted through'the gears 22 and 20,to thegear I8 and the rolls, and 36 are driven simultaneously and at uniform speed. The teeth of the gears upon the shaft 19 are cut on lines which will permit tilting of that shaft without undue wear or breakage of the gears;

Helical compression springs IBJare'moUnted in slots l5.l in the columns I5. The lower ends of the springs l6.l bear against plates l6.2-resting upon the ball-bearings 38 in which the-shaft" I9 rotates. In order to give the threads of the rolls 35 and 36 a self-sharpening effect, I mount them so that one side of the threads'of the upperroll 35 will contact and press against the opposite side of the threads of the 1ower roll 36 as at 43. To maintain this contact with'th'e' threads,=l

mount a helical spring 39 upon the projecting end of the shaft l9. This spring is arranged to" bear against washers 40 and 42 and is heldunder' compression by a key or cotterpin 4|. V

The shaft 24 may be driven by any suitable means operated by the prime mover of the corn picker. Likewise the drive crank 25 may be driven by the belt 26.! or other form of power transmission from a beltwheel mountedupon. a shaft 31 which is driven by bevel gears "from.

the shaft 24. r

While my apparatus is designed to be mountedupon the frame of a' cornpicker o'f 'any'of the types in common use, it may be set up as an independent unit with any desired form. of prime mover.

. As the cornpicker is driven ,down-therows' of: standing corn," the picker snaps off theears and. then bends the stalks forward;- At the: same time the blades 3, 4 and,5 cut'the cornstalks. off

near the ground and they are carried butt first; to and through the rolls where they arerthoroughly cut, mashed and macerated bythe-sharp threads of the rolls and thegpressure-thereofp These rolls not only carry the-stalks. rearwardly, but the threads are so arranged that they shift the stalks laterally from one side to theother, thus insuring more complete maceration and '4 more complete destruction of the worms hibernating in the stalks.

The term threads is not entirely clear as a designation for the helical slitting, crushing and macerating members formed upon the peripherfies of the rolls as shown in Figure 5, and I use theterm blades in some of the claims to refer to them. It willbe understood that both the terms threads and blades as so used refer to the triangular projections arranged in helical form upon the rolls carried by the shafts l9 and 24 and that they are triangular in section with the outer edges or crests sharpened suhiciently to readily make longitudinal slits or cuts in the stalks extending through or almost entirely through the stalks. At the same time, the helical form of these threads will cause the stalks to move laterally and make the cuts extend diagonally to that extent; also, the expanding or spreading effect of these threadswill cause, the sides of the cuts to expand or spread, thereby macerating the stalks to some extent and exerting a crushing'action as well as exposing the worms and pupae in the stalks to the destructive effect of the atmosphere and the elements. The spaces between successive threads on the rolls are referred to as grooves and it is obvious that as the threads of one roll force the stalks into the grooves of the opposite roll, the stalks will be crushed as well as slit and macerated.

Many changes may be made in the form, proportions and position of the parts without departing from the spirit of my invention and. I do not limit my claims to the precise forms shownin the drawings.

I claim:

.1. An agricultural implement for processing corn stalks to kill corn worms and pupae therein,

including a frame with bed-plate arranged for attachment to a mechanical corn picker, a reciproca'ting cutting blade mounted at the front of the picker, of a crushing, slitting and macerating. roll journaled in the frame comprising a cylinder having a continuous cutting and crushing large, sharp-edged blade united to the periphery thereof in helical form, a corresponding and complementary roll journaled in the frame with its blade arranged to bear laterally againstthe blade of the first roll whereby corn stalks passing between the rolls will be subjectedto a simultaneous longitudinal slitting, crushing and shredding action and Worms or pupae therein destroyed or exposed to the elements.

3. In a farm implement, for use with a cornpicker, the combination with a frame mounted upon the lower part of the picker, of means to cut the corn stalks off close to the ground, a pair of rolls with coacting radial crushing and slitting blades mounted upon the rear end of the frame, and means to revolve the rolls.

4. An implement for crushing and macerating corn stalks infested by cornborers or other pests,v

including a frame, means mounted thereon for cutting the cormstalks': off f'close to the ground, a

pair ofsrolls revolvably mounted upon the. frame;

having 'coacting deep interemeshing; helical grooves; and helical sharpeedgeds threads formed on the;- peripheries thereof respectively andtrunning; in opposite directions, means; for revolving theirolls unison and means; for feeding; the cornstalks-lto the rolls. i

.5; implement for crushing, slitting; and macerating corn stalks, including a frame, means mounted thereon for cutting the cornstalks, a pair of rolls revolvably mounted upon the frame having sharp-edged coacting radial blades and grooves formed in the peripheries thereof, means for revolving the rolls in unison and means for feeding the corn stalks to the rolls whereby the stalks may be both crushed, slitted longitudinally and diagonally and the interior opened and exposed to the elements.

6. An agricultural implement for processing corn stalks, including a frame with bed-plate arranged for attachment to a mechanical cornpicker, a reciprocating cutter blade mounted at the front of the bed-plate, a pair of rolls rotatably mounted upon the frame at the rear of the bedplate and carrying sharp-edged, deep, intermeshing peripheral threads, and grooves, a pair of alternately reciprocating feed bars mounted on the frame at one side thereof coupled together by double cranks and with inwardly projecting tines or prongs arranged to contact and urge the corn stalks rearwardly butt first when severed, and means to drive the feed bars simultaneously after being severed by the cutter.

'7. In an agricultural implement for processing corn stalks, the combination with a frame arranged for attachment to a mechanical cornpicker, of cutting means mounted at the front of the frame to sever the stalks near the ground, a pair of rolls rotatably mounted upon the frame having sharp, deep, intermeshing peripheral threads thereon, feeding means mounted on the frame arranged to contact and feed the corn stalks rearwardly to the rolls butt first when severed, and means to actuate the rolls and feeding means simultaneously.

8. In an agricultura1 implement for processing corn stalks, the combination with a frame ar-' ranged for attachment to a mechanical cornpicker, of cutting means mounted at the front of the frame to sever the stalks near the ground, a pair of rolls rotatably mounted upon the frame having sharp, deep, intermeshing peripheral triangular blades and grooves thereon, feeding means mounted on the frame arranged to contact and feed the corn stalks rearwardly to the rolls butt first when severed, and means to drive one of said rolls directly and the other roll by a gear train from the driven roll.

9. In a combination as described in claim 8, said gear train of rolls being arranged to permit variable spacing of the rolls to accommodate varying thicknesses of the stalks.

10. An implement as described in claim 4, one of said rolls having a shaft journaled in fixed bearings in the frame, and the other roll having its shaft journaled in spring-held bearing blocks slidably mounted in vertical slots in the frame whereby the spacing of said rolls may be varied automatically by the stalks passing between them.

11. An implement as described in claim 4, one of said rolls having a shaft journaled in fixed bearings in the frame, and the other roll having its shaft journaled in bearing blocks slidably mounted in vertical slots in the frame whereby thee spacings of said; rolls, may; be; varied autos-l matieally:by:theastalksrpas-singebetween; them and: helical? compression; springstmounted: in, the; slots: arranged to exert pressurei uplon; the-bearing; blocks ofthe movable roll.

121 kneimplement asudescribed in claim 4, one of said rolls having a shaft journaled in fixed bearings in thefia'ifiegand the other roll having its; Shaft jeurnaledim bearing blocks slidably mounted in vertical slots in theirame; whereby the spacing of said rolls may be varied auto-matically by the stalks passing between them, helical compression springs mounted in the slots arranged to exert pressure upon the bearing blocks of the movable roll, and adjusting screws mounted in the frame to adjust the compression of the helical springs upon their bearing blocks respectively.

13. An agricultural implement for processing corn stalks, including a frame with bed-plate arranged for attachment to a mechanical cornpicker, a reciprocating blade mounted at the front of the bed-plate, a pair of rolls rotatably mounted upon the frame at the rear of the bedplate and carrying sharp-edged, deep, intermeshing peripheral triangular threads and grooves, one of said rolls having a shaft journaled in horizontal position in fixed bearing in the frame and the shaft of the other roll being journaled in movable bearings slidingly mounted in vertical slots formed in the frame, helical compression springs mounted in the slots arranged to exert pressure upon the bearing blocks of the movable roll, adjusting screws mounted in the frame to adjust the compression of the helical springs upon their bearing blocks respectively, means to drive the fixed roll directly and a train of gears to drive the movable roll from and simultaneously with the fixed roll but in the opposite direction.

14. An implement as described in claim 3, and means to hold one side of the threads of one roll in close contact with the opposite side of the threads of the other roll.

15. The combination as described in claim 8, and a compression spring mounted upon the shaft of the idler roll arranged to urge one side of the threads of the idler roll into close contact with the opposite side of the opposed threads of the driven roll.

16. The combination as described in claim 8, and means to hold one side of the threads of one roll in contact with the opposite side of the opposed threads of the other roll.

17. An implement as described in claim 4, one of said rolls having a shaft journaled in fixed bearings in the frame, and the other roll having its shaft journaled in bearing blocks slidably mounted in vertical slots in the frame whereby the spacing of said rolls may be varied automatically by the stalks passing between them, the roll upon the slidable shaft being arranged with one side of its threads in contact with the opposite side of the threads of the fixed roll and projecting into the opposed groove of the fixed roll whereby the stalks may be both crushed, slitted longitudinally and diagonally and the interior opened and exposed to the elements.

18. An implement as described in claim 4, one of said rolls having a shaft journaled in fixed bearings in the frame, and the other roll having its shaft journaled in bearing blocks slidably mounted in vertical slots in the frame whereby the spacing of said rolls may be varied automatically by the stalks passing between them, the roll upon the slidable shaft being arranged with one 7 8' side 01' its threads extending -intethe opposite I 'UNITED STATES PATENTS groove and in contact with the adjacent side of Number Name Dame the threads of the fixed rolLand spring actuated 588 752 Mueller 24, 1897 means to urge the said sides of the threads to. 1 8- Everett et a1 26 1933 Ward each other- 1 5 212931757 Jochumsen Aug. 25, 1942 JOSEPH 7 2,345,715 Reed Apr. 4, 1944 2,347,664 Chilton May 2, 1944 REFERENCES CITED 2,349,328 Aasland May 23, 1944 The following references are of reccrd in the 2,385,193 Burgin Sept. 18, 1945 file of this patent: 10? 

